184 



RIBAND-SHAPED. 



our seas ; for on the 12th of November 1812, another of 

 them was found on the beach, hard by the same fishing vil- 

 lage as the former, but of a much larger size : it was brought 

 next day in a cart to the Duke of Gordon, at whose desire 

 I made the following observations :" 



" Its head had been broken off, and was quite gone ; a 

 small bit of the gills only remained about the upper part of 

 the throat ; from whence to the extremity of the tail its 

 length was twelve feet nine inches : its breadth, eleven inches 

 and a quarter, was nearly equal for the first six feet in length 

 from the gills, diminishing gradually from thence to the tail, 

 which ended in a blunt point, without any of those kind of 

 bristles which projected from the tail of the one found for- 

 merly : its greatest thickness was two inches and a half : 

 the distance from the gills to the anus forty-six inches. 

 The dorsal fin extended from the head to the tail, but was 

 much torn and broken : the bones and muscles to which the 

 pectoral fins had been attached, were perceivable very near 

 the gills. There were no ventral nor anal fins ; but the 

 thin edge of the belly was closely muricated with small hard 

 points, which, although scarcely visible through the skin, 

 were very plainly felt all along it. Both sides of the fish 

 were white, with four longitudinal bars of a darker colour ; 

 the one immediately below the dorsal fin was about two 

 inches broad, each of the other three about three-fourths 

 of an inch. The side line straight along the middle." 



Dr. Fleming has remarked, that " from the preceding 

 descriptions, it appears probable that the two fishes examined 

 by Mr. Hoy belong to different species. The difference 

 in the position of the vent, the structure of the tail, and the 

 condition of the ridge of the belly, seem too great to justify 

 the inference of their being only varieties. The latter fish 



